For if there come unto your assembly (literally, synagogue). — This is the only place in the New Testament where the Jewish word is used for a Christian congregation.
A man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel. — Better, a man golden-ringed, in bright apparel. Roman satirists had much to say upon the fops and dandies of their time, with “all their fingers laden with rings”; some, if we may trust the sneer of Martial, having six on each; and others with heavy gold or light, according to the oppressiveness of the season; no doubt, the fashions set in Rome extended to Jerusalem. “Goodly apparel” is, rather, gorgeous — splendid in colour or ornament; the same two words are translated “gay clothing” in the following verse.
And there come in also a poor man in vile raiment. — Squalid, even dirty, as from work and wear — the exact opposite of the idle over-dressed exquisite.